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Nik. Also known as Prince Nikolas.
ChapterThree
“Nik?” I gasped, too shocked to use the proper form of address. “How are you here?”
But a moment later my body stiffened as I remembered myself.
“I mean, Your Highness.” I bowed, but it was hard to manage more than a slight incline when he was standing so close, trapping me between his body and the alley wall.
He watched me with an unfamiliar look—a dangerous mixture of amusement and affection. But at the sound of his title, he drew back, his face darkening.
I sighed. Everything about this scene was familiar. His unexpected proximity rolled back time, forcibly reminding me of the nighttime adventures that had marked the beginning of my apprenticeship. Those days had been lost in the sea of endless training since, but suddenly they seemed so close I could touch them. It felt like only yesterday when I had stood like this—too close and yet also too distant from the searing blue eyes that seemed to see straight through me.
“Don’t call me that,” he said, his voice rough.
I arched one eyebrow. “Why not? It’s your title.” I left the statement hanging between us like a challenge, and he was the first to look away, running a hand through his hair, the lines of his body taut.
The silence between us grew heavy.
My mind spun through the various questions I wanted to ask him. I should start with Grey and whether Nik had located him. I should ask about where he’d been all these weeks.
I did neither.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” The words came out more angrily than I’d intended, bearing a load of emotion I hadn’t intended to reveal. “Why did you hide your real identity?”
“That’s not my identity anymore.” The tone was harsh, and he wouldn’t meet my eyes.
I laughed darkly. “You mean because you’re a reneger?”
He pulled back as if I’d hit him, but I couldn’t tamp down my rising anger.
“You might not be wielding the authority of a prince right now, but that doesn’t change your birthright. You grew up in a palace, Nik! Your father isKing Marius. How could you not tell me something like that?” The next words hung unspoken on my tongue.You saved me. You kissed me. But you didn’t tell me who you were.
“I…” He ran his hand through his hair again, and I realized I’d never seen him so hesitant, so unsure.
Some of my anger deflated. It felt pointless being angry at someone who was clearly lost and alone. Whatever choices Nik had made that had led him here, he had left himself nothing but his ability and the strange determination that drove him.
He had chosen to cut himself off from everyone and everything, so who was I to think I should be an exception? He had made me no promises.
“Never mind,” I said. “The important thing is Grey. Did you find him? What about Miranda?”
I rose onto my toes as the questions poured out of me, my eyes fixed urgently on his face. A hot wave of worry and guilt was rising inside me. Grey had fled with Miranda as a captive, and we had all abandoned her.
We might have had our reasons, but for Miranda, at least, those reasons meant little. Nik had gone after her, though, and I hadn’t realized how much of my peace had been built on that knowledge. But now he was back here in Caltor, apparently alone. Had something happened to Miranda?
Nik gazed at me for a moment, absorbing the change of topic. Emotions raced across his face too fast for me to read before he shut them all behind a wall, returning to his old closed-off expression.
“Miranda is fine—physically, at least. Or she was when I left to come here.”
When I flinched at his final words, his voice softened.
“I saw no indication that situation will change. Grey wants to use her, not harm her.”
I sank back, both relieved and disappointed by his words. I was glad to know she was safe for now, but my earlier sense that I had betrayed her was growing. Until now, I had been able to cling to the hope that Nik would find a way to free her. Now I could no longer deceive myself.
“Why are you here?” I asked, my voice dull and my eyes trained on the ground.
A gentle finger under my chin lifted my face until my eyes met his.
